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KTU

Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit

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Aqhat

KTU 1.18 IV

[…]
[…] he breaks […]
[…]
[Virgin] Anat, to all […]
Virgin Anat departed. [Then indeed she set her face]
towards Yatpan, the warrior of the Lady. [She lifted up her voice]
and cried: “[…] Yatpan […]
the city of Abilum, Abilum, [the city of Prince Yarih]!
Will Yarih not be renewed in [his left] horn,
in his right horn? […]
his skull.” And Yatpan, the [warrior of the Lady], replied:
“Listen, pray, O Virgin Anat! You, because of [his bow],
will strike him, because of his arrows; him you will not let [live]. […]
The gracious hero has set out a meal, and […]
he has stayed behind in the camp, and […]
And Virgin Anat replied: “Return, Yatpan, and […]
I will place you like an eagle in my belt,
like a hawk in my quiver. Aqhat, [as he sits]
to eat, the son of Danel to dine, [over him]
eagles will soar, will watch, a [flock of]
hawks. Among the eagles I myself will soar; over⁠
Aqhat I will place you. Strike him twice on the head,
three times above the ear. Pour out, like a slaughterer,
his blood, as one slaughtering, onto his knees. Let go out, like
a wind, his breath, like spittle, his spirit, like
smoke from his nostrils. […] I
will not let live.” She took Yatpan, the warrior of the Lady;
she placed him like an eagle in her belt, like a hawk
in her quiver. Aqhat, as he sat down to e[at],
the son of Danel to dine, over him eagles
soared, a flock of haw[ks] watched. [Among]
the eagles Anat soared. Over [Aqhat]
she placed him. He struck him twice [on the head],
three times above the ear. He poured out, [like]
a slaughterer, his blood, as one slaugh[tering, onto his knees].
Out went, like a wind, [his] breath, [like spittle]⁠
his spirit, like smoke from [his nostrils]. […]
Anat, at the destruction of her warrior, […]
Aqhat, and she wept. “[Child of Danel], […]
[…] I, and because of [your bow I struck you], because of
your arrows. You […]
And the birds perished […]

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.18 IV:21 and Genesis 1:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Genesis 1 uses birdlike movement also attributed to Anat in the Tale of Aqhat, making God's presence over the waters seem poised to act before creation begins.

Passages

KTU 1.18 IV:21

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
I will place you like an eagle in my belt, like a hawk in my quiver. Aqhat, [as he sits] to eat, the son of Danel to dine, [over him] eagles will soar, will watch, a [flock of] hawks. Among the eagles I myself will soar; over Aqhat I will place you. Strike him twice on the head, three times above the ear. Pour out, like a slaughterer, his blood, as one slaughtering, onto his knees. Let go out, like a wind, his breath, like spittle, his spirit, like smoke from his nostrils. […] I will not let live.” She took Yatpan, the warrior of the Lady; she placed him like an eagle in her belt, like a hawk in her quiver. Aqhat, as he sat down to e[at], the son of Danel to dine, over him eagles soared, a flock of haw[ks] watched. [Among] the eagles Anat soared. Over [Aqhat] she placed him. He struck him twice [on the head],
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Genesis 1:2

Hebrew Bible
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was hovering11 over the surface of the water. 3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! 4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.” 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

References

“... Deuteronomy 32:11; and KTU 1.18 IV 21, 31 and 32; see Parker, “Aqhat,” 66, 68. See also the root applied to Anat in KTU 1.108.8 (noted in the discussion in HALOT 1219–1220). The verb in the Ugaritic passages is often translated as “hover,” but it is unclear that birds hover as such; flying, soaring, gliding, and swooping are more proper characterizations of how birds move. ... Following citation of the biblical evidence, Brown (Seven Pillars) suggests: “The sense in Gen. 1:2 is that of God’s breath suspended over the waters, like a vulture riding the updraft of a warm current of air, gently moving back and forth or fluctuating, but poised to act (cf. Gen. 1:9; 8:1).” Noting the root in Ugaritic, Cross (Canaanite Myth, 323) regards its use in Gen. 1:2 to be an “archaism.” ...”
Mark S. Smith, The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010), PDF 374.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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KTU 1.18 IV:21 and Genesis 1:2

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